| ID | 142027 |
| Title Proper | Water privatization, ethnicity and rent-seeking |
| Other Title Information | preliminary evidence from Malaysia |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Tan, Jeff |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This paper examines the ongoing promotion of infrastructure and water privatization in Malaysia despite the failure to increase capital investment and improve efficiency. It locates privatization within the process of capital accumulation, with rents and rent-seeking as an integral part of this. In this context, water privatization provides opportunities for the creation of entrepreneurs through the allocation of rents in the form of water-related contracts. The paper provides preliminary evidence, drawing from privatized water and sewerage projects in the state of Selangor to illustrate how this offers rents for both bumiputera (Malay) and non-bumiputera entrepreneurs. Rent-seeking is driven by changes in social formations and specifically the emergence of a Malay middle class that needed to be politically accommodated. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN Economic Bulletin Change the Name ) Vol. 32, No. 3; Dec 2015: p.297-318 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN Economic Bulletin Change the Name ) 2015-12 32, 3 |
| Key Words | Water ; Malaysia ; Privatization ; Entrepreneurship ; Rent - Seeking |